Located in a less central part of...
Located in a less central part of Jakarta away from the main shopping areas, the hotel is above a dusty street filled with roadside stalls selling varieties of local food, so much so the street is named the culinary street on a streetboard. Not that I have tried the stalls' offerings, I must say it makes an interesting sight at night when they are all opened. The hotel is an antidote to the over the top plush settings of other hotels, ALiLa is modern and minimal, with a careful play of colours of black, brown, beige and white in its lobby. There is barely a painting along the walls and corridors excepts for artistically placed panels of wood, understated and contemplative. If you are looking for the posh and luxe, this hotel is not for you. However, my excitement for its aesthetic stopped short in the deluxe room, failing to deliver the same punch. The room looked Spartan, minimal but not luxurious, almost like a dormitory room with so much potential for one to dress it up. It is too plain, the TV is way too small, the sheets are old, the dressing table is too angular, the wooden floor makes it all so much plainer. Minimal with not enough style, too hard on the edges. The bathroom has no separate showers and no sockets for the hairdryer. Not a room to linger and ponder in, unless you are pondering what else to do to the room to make it really work. On the whole, it did not. The unfriendly room keeps you away so the lovely breakfast spread of fruit and best mago yoghurt, and the fully equipped gym are excellent escapes, although the pool lacks aesthetics but still functions. When you hear so much about what ALiLa can do, perhaps they remain best as resorts by the sea, cliff or in the mountains of Bali or a destination where nature softens all the hard edges. Jakarta is not, it is already too hard and hush. At least for ALiLa.
